The present invention generally relates to purchasing systems, and more specifically, but not exclusively, concerns a sales system adapted to dynamically price goods and/or services over a computer network.
With the recent explosion in Internet commerce, the amount of stolen or pirated content has been on the rise. Encryption systems, such as Secured Digital Music Interface (SDMI), can be circumvented by hackers so that songs contained therein are freely available. For example, point-to-point (peer-to-peer) (P2P) programs, such as Napster and Gnutella, have made it very easy for a person to copy copyrighted material without compensating the author or artist. Consumers who download the pirated content believe that it is “free”; when in actuality they are “stealing” the author's work. Current intellectual property laws are not comprehensive enough and have not quickly adapted to cover this developing technology. Since intellectual property rights vary internationally, enforcement of those rights across national boundaries can be difficult. Although suits against P2P providers, such as Napster, have been successful, the cost and time involved in achieving a successful result can be prohibitive. Moreover, systems like Gnutella do not require a central index server for maintaining a list of users. This decentralized approach makes it nearly impossible to shutdown such systems since there is no central operator to target for suit. Pursuing legal remedies against individual users who break copyright laws only antagonizes the public further and creates further animosity towards the recording, movie, software and publishing industries.
Due to their popularity, the P2P swapping services, like Napster and Gnutella, have dramatically increased network loads of institutions where such services are extremely popular, like colleges and universities. To combat the increased network loads, universities have denied students access to such services across their networks. Thus, these services are severely hampered in contacting an extremely desirable demographic of consumers, students.
Therefore, there has been a long-felt need for a system to provide digital media priced so that content suppliers can make a profit, and at the same time provide an incentive for consumers to purchase and not steal content.
One form of the present invention concerns a unique digital media content purchasing system. Other forms concern unique systems, apparatus and techniques for supplying media content.
According to one aspect of the disclosure, a method of dynamically pricing items by category includes grouping a plurality of items into a first group for purposes of aggregately pricing each of the plurality of items. A first price of a first and a second of the plurality of items in the first group for sale is sent from a processor to one or more clients over a network. One or more orders for at least one of the first or second of the plurality of items at the first price is received from one or more of the clients. At least one of the first or second of the plurality of items is delivered to the one or more clients that ordered the item at the first price. The first and second of the plurality of items in the first group is priced at a second price with the processor based at least on the one or more orders for the first or second of the plurality of items at the first price. The second price is sent over the network to one or more clients. The pricing includes at least one of (i) determining if a profit at the first price is at least equal to a best profit for one or more previous price levels for the first or second of the plurality of items with the processor and increasing the first price to the second price if the profit at the first price is at least equal to the best profit for the one or more previous price levels for the first or second of the plurality of items, wherein the second price is greater than the first price, and (ii) determining if the profit at the first price is less than the best profit for the one or more previous price levels with the processor and reducing the first price to the second price if the profit at the first price is less than the best profit for the one or more previous price levels, wherein the second price is less than the first price.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, a method of dynamically pricing items by category includes grouping a plurality of items into a first group for purposes of aggregately pricing each of the plurality of items. A first price of a first of the plurality of items in the first group for sale is sent from a processor to one or more clients over a network. A second of the plurality of items in the first group is priced with the processor at a second price randomly generated within a range of the first price. The second price for the second of the plurality of items in the first group for sale is sent from a processor to one or more clients over a network. One or more orders for the first of the plurality of items at the first price or the second of the plurality of items at the second price is received from one or more of the clients. One of the first of the plurality of items or one of the second of the plurality of items is delivered to the one or more clients that ordered the first of the plurality of items at the first price or the second of the plurality of items at the second price. The first of the plurality of items is priced at a third price with the processor based at least on the one or more orders at the first price or at the second price. The third price is sent over the network to one or more clients. Said pricing includes: determining profit at the first price or second price is less than a best profit for previous price levels with the processor; determining a difference between a best price at which the best profit for the previous price levels was obtained and the first or second price is less than a minimum limit; and setting the third price to a randomly adjusted price within a range about the best price.
According to yet another aspect of the disclosure. An apparatus comprises memory and a processor. The memory contains at least three items. The memory stores a first group indicator with regard to the first and second of the at least three items and a second group indicator with regard to the third item of the at least three items wherein the at least three items include media content. The processor is operatively coupled to said memory, is responsive to input over a network from one or more clients, is operable to dynamically adjust pricing of the at least three items, is operable to deliver the appropriate one of the at least three items from memory to the one or more clients that order one of the at least three items at a dynamically adjusted price, is operable to adjust the pricing of the first and second of the at least three items by comparing profits generated by the first or second of the at least three items at different price levels, and is operable to adjust the pricing of the third of the at least three items by comparing profits generated by the third of the at least three items at different price levels. The network includes the Internet. The processor is operable to adjust the pricing of the first and second of the at least three items when profit at a current price for the first and second of the at least three items is less than a previous best profit at a previous best price for the first and second of the at least three items. The processor is operable to adjust the pricing of the third of the at least three items when profit at a current price for the third of the at least three items is less than a previous best profit at a previous best price for the third of the at least three items.
Other forms, embodiments, objects, features, advantages, benefits, and aspects of the present invention shall become apparent from the detailed drawings and description contained herein.